The other cmpany that have done this are Blizzard. I had reservations about them for a long time, mostly from WoW as I refuse to buy a game and THEN spend a monthly fee on it, thats frikkin cheecky in my opinion and most who disagree think lack of funds means they can only buy a couple of drinks this weekend.
For peoples consideration, Blizzard let people play WoW free till lvl 20 (its still not worth it because like life, it really starts when you get to the top level)
Blizzard also brought back the Starcraft 2 spawn. You can play a few multiplayer maps and ALL the custom games and I think a bit of the campaign as well but dont quote me on that. In my view some of the custom maps are THEE best thing about the game as some people have made some truly amazing "games" from the editor. Dawn of War 2 esk last stand anyone? Tower defence games? HoMM type rpg games? Its got em all and much much more.
So... I love you Valve. Keep doing this kinda stuff and I will bow down and follow you like a sheep.
Being a sheep doesnt come easy from me.
